And They're Off!

Saturday morning was simply fantastic as I woke up without having to worry about what time we needed to catch a cab to work and whether or not I was doing lesson 1 or lesson 2 all evening! Though I still woke up early, mainly due to the watermelon truck (which has speakers blaring Korean non-stop from its bed) and kids in the park next door, I managed to stay in bed until noon!

When I had fully arisen I ventured over Nate's way to check out the delivery he had been brought early in the a.m.! The box, which I guess was hand delivered at 10:00 in the morning, contained a number of different articles of what can only be described as 'junk.' The 'junk' consisted of some small wooden fold out stools (which actually are pretty cool though sized for a large squirrel), two chia-pet like figures, barnyard animal statuettes with alligator clips, pop-out balsa wood furniture and some Christmas-tree-ornament-like wooden figures of different transportation methods. Quite the surprise. . .especially early in the morning!! What can be done with all this junk other than left in the room when we leave!? Most likely nothing. . .so in the meantime I'll take a mini chia-man and let you know how his hair turns out!!

We made it down to the local Chinese restaurant, Chia-Wok, just as the lunch crowd was leaving! Mmmmm breakfast at noon, kinda sounds like college all over again! Over lunch we skimmed through our two LP Bibles (one for Korea and a city guide of just Seoul) trying to determine what adventures would guide our day. This is not as easy as it seems in that Seoul is not nor has even tried to be a tourist city. There is in fact very little to do and see from a tourist's point of view. No 'must see' temples, though some are given greater distinction that others, no world renowned monuments, and no well defined tourist routes! (**If you disagree or have any suggestions please a) let us know, there is a comments section below and b) tell LP to improve the quality and direction of their Korea volumes. Thank You**)

It was eventually determined that we would visit Inwangsan, a shamanist compound, in the middle of the city. By the time we returned to our apartments however to collect cameras and other tourist gear I noticed that it was already growing late, Inwangsan was not close, and pictures weren't allowed there anyways (what type of tourist attraction is that!). So rather than try to determine the 'must sees,' as LP really suggests few, I decided to pick someplace on the map that looked close and interesting. That turned out to be the Seoul Racecourse Park, a horse racing track that just so happened to be open on Saturdays!


We raced down to Hanti Station, headed North on the Bundang Line to Seolleung. Changed trains and transferred to the Green Line on which we rode six stops to Sadang. Again changed trains and transferred to Line 4, headed South. Three stops down and only 45 minutes later we exited the metro at the Seoul Racecouse Park Station!

Seoul Racecourse Park Station

No guesswork was necessary in finding our way to the track as our path was lined by a horseshoe shaped canopy at which two bronze stallions stood guard. We walked the quarter mile or so to the track and paid the 800W entrance fee. Again, this equates to about 80 cents; guess they must make most of their money inside the gates!

Entrance to the park was not through the Grandstands so we made our way to the massive eight or so story building that stood in front of us. Pushing through the throngs of people waiting to place their bets we made it out to the viewing area (the cheap seats on the ground of course)! The track was beautiful and surrounded by a backdrop of lush green mountains!
Arriving at around 4:30pm we were just able to catch the 10th race and have two more to wait around for. We found a program strewn aside and attempted to make out the information presented. Knowing zero Korean and only slightly more horse racing we were able to decipher nothing more than the race numbers and length.

However, after watching the 11th race and checking out others' bets we felt confident enough to try and check off a few of the boxes on a betting slip. Pretending like we knew what we were doing, we made it out front to the stables where they were showing the horses to be running in the upcoming 12th and final race.

Pre-Race Show Track

I decided that Number 9 was certain to take the race while Nate settled on Number 5. We actually managed to place our bets with little trouble other than that I had intended to bet 1000W (a single dollar's equivalent) but instead marked the box indicating 100W! Oops! While seemingly foolish the bets are preceded only by a 1 through 5 while the hundreds/thousands/millions place is written out in Korean. . . .can't be held too accountable! I'm just glad I didn't screw up and bet the other way!!

Racecourse Sculpture Garden

Having placed our bets we headed out to the track to await the start of our big money race! Watching horse number 12 begin bucking at the starting line set Nate off. He had considered betting on the outside lane earlier and was now convinced that doing so was a money ticket. I quickly helped him fill out a second slip and he raced inside, only to return disappointed that they had closed betting for the race (no kidding, the horses were already in the gates)!

Well wouldn't you guess who won the race. . .Horse 12 beat the field by a full length!! And Nate said he knew nothing about betting on horses! Oh well, our combined 1,100W bets fell through and our imaginary 1000W one won (say that three times fast)!

As that was the final race (horse twelve in race twelve!?) we headed out with the throngs of people towards the metro station. We originally considered waiting for the crowd to die down until glancing back and realizing that the crowd was honestly a non-stop never ending sea of people. Might as well tough it out we figured, ducked down into the station and actually managed to catch the first train; as we were full out shoved into the darn thing with no other option but to oblige!

Climbing out of Hanti Station we stopped in Lotte Department Store to try and find shin guards as Martin, a fellow DYB teacher, had invited me to play in his Seoul Sunday Football Leauge (SSFL) game that took place today! We entered Lotte downstairs at the food court where we had searched for one of our first meals only a week before. Except this time something was different. . . there stood an entire grocery store next to the food court where a week ago, nothing had been!! As Nate recalled reading somewhere, Seoul completely reinvents itself every 24 hours, and what an example of that! We browsed the new store for a while collecting samples and picking out some interesting drinks to dry including a blueberry smoothie and pomegranate juice in a can!

We finally made it up to the Jeans/Sports Floor and slowly went browsing through the immaculate displays. Having been to Lotte before we were well aware that showing interest in anything would immediately call attention to one of the attendants who are positioned no more than every 15 feet! I attempted to browse the soccer section myself but no such luck! I was quickly approached by a Lotte employee asking if he could help. I told him what I was looking for but felt rather doubtful as Koreans seem more interested in shoes than the equipment itself. I realize this is obviously not the case but it certainly appeared so at Lotte!

I was eventually directed to the Adidas section of the store (silly me asking a Nike representative) where I was shown a selection of shin guards. By selection I mean only in sizes and more so only children's sizes! No straps or sleeves to keep them in place, just a small bent piece of plastic, but hey, they look cool, and that's the Korean way! So I picked up a pair of the large and managed to use a credit card which, so we've heard, are not widely accepted in town!

We headed back to our apartments to call it at night but not after challenging the local youth at a game or two of Tekken Tag Tournament; a video game on which we wasted countless hours in middle school playing in Andrew Hobey's basement! Out side of a small eatery on our way home there is a small arcade machine set at about half height with a little bench in front of it. Here kids can be seen playing Tekken all night, challenging each other for dominance of the machine as many adults do in pool!

Having put in a good number of hours at the game back in the day. . .and I do mean a good number, Nate and I figured we might stand a chance against the little guys. No such luck. . . Having played probably a dozen or so games against others neither Nate nor I have been able to successfully beat a Korea student . . .though we've both come close. . .kinda!

Either way it's great fun and they clearly enjoy practicing their English and making fun of two huge white kids crouched over a tiny video game, putting up dimes to challenge them again only to lose all our day's change!

Oh well!! Video games are simply not the activity for Americans to excel at in Korea!

Soccer might be another story however as almost 50% of our team today, at SSFL, were Americans. In fact, there were two other kids there, one watching and one playing, from Michigan (both from Grand Rapids)! Nate and I met up with Martin outside of Apgujeong Station, yes the same Apgujeong, and walked the five minutes or so to the Han River Spitfires' home pitch, set just behind a middle school!

I was introduced to Sun, the team's 50 year old co-manager who also plays defense for at least 45 min a game and simply does not falter! Ammar, the other co-manager was kind enough to lend me his jersey for the game as he had been ejected the previous game and therefore left ineligible to compete in today's match!

It was explained to me that they are really looking for people to commit to the team as many players enjoy only showing up sporadically. With not a thing else to do and excited to find an activity, both extracurricular and physical, I happily obliged! The only requirement is my showing up on time, a $100 league fee (a steal for a 20 game season) and $35 for a fully jersey! Which, I might add, is hot teal with neon green trim! What's even better is I get my name on the back of the jersey and can have it in English or Korean . . .no choice there as I don't get to play on a Korean soccer team more than once in my life!

The match went well as our team seems pretty decent and I got to play a good junk of the game. I think I actually surprised our 'coach' when I finally gained possession of the ball, versus just clearing it back on defense, and wound up taking a rocket shot at the goal from about 30 yards out that ended up sailing just a bit high! Oh well, it was acknowledged as a great shot and really my only productive opportunity of the game!

Despite going down early then leading 2-1 until late in the second half, two last minute haphazard goals allowed the other team, Loko, to just squeak out a 3-2 victory. I still had a great time a met a couple guys that were very knowledgeable and friendly, not to mention from Michigan! Sun (manager/coach/defense all-star) kindly treated us all to chicken and beer afterwards at the all noticeable Two Two Fried Chicken! The meal felt great, even after a loss!

That did it for Sunday as we decided to pass on Tekken tonight. . . .not out of choice but because there was already a crowd around the little machine! Maybe tomorrow!

Pictures to come, I promise, more have been put up below on previous posts! Enjoy and thanks for your comments!!